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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701631">The Sorceress, The Witchers, and The Warbler</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilsamarooo/pseuds/lilsamarooo'>lilsamarooo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Horrifying Adventures of Jaskier and Bee! [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Loves Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read, Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Protective Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:42:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,022</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701631</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilsamarooo/pseuds/lilsamarooo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaskier learns to cope with his trauma and with the help of his friends, he learns to heal as well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eskel &amp; Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia &amp; Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion &amp; Lambert, Jaskier | Dandelion &amp; Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Horrifying Adventures of Jaskier and Bee! [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Be sure to read the previous works in order to understand this!<br/>Happy reading :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>❧</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaskier was… coping.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d been at Yennefer’s house in her guest bedroom for a little more than a month now and things were getting better. No more waking up crying in the middle of the night, no more urges to scream when the room was too dark. The couple at the coffee shop had fired him (Yennefer had told him after he’d gotten settled) so there was nothing for him to do but try and piece himself back together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Today was one of Jaskier’s off days. He blinked open his eyes to see nothing but the dark and Jaskier’s heart stuttered painfully for a moment before he remembered that his night light had died last night and there were no batteries to replace it. Sighing quietly, he slipped out of the sheets and checked the time on his phone. 3:28 AM.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was funny if you thought about it. Jaskier was usually all over his phone, constantly holding onto the device like it was a lifeline, and now he went days without it, only looking at the time and the weather. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Geralt texted him every morning and night, asking how he was, updating him on the near constant fights between the brothers and their father, but Jaskier never answered.</span>
</p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span>Hey Jask, hope you’re doing okay today. Vesemir’s still not talking to us after we yelled at him when you left. He’s been out on hunts nonstop, but the others and I are still mad at him for what he made us do, so we aren’t going with him. I want to hate him but he’s my dad, you know? It’s weird having so much free time on my hands. Maybe I need a hobby, like knitting or something. Sleep well.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>Jaskier smiled a bit, imagining Geralt and his brothers sitting down at the kitchen table and knitting scarves. He didn’t feel ready to reply to him just yet. One of Jaskier’s more frequent nightmares was the brothers standing in front of that stupid cage, holding the medical instruments from the table on the other side of the room and waiting for the cage door to open. They’d never used the table on him, but it still scared him to look at it whenever they briefly turned on the light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Putting his phone down, Jaskier took out his favorite large gray hoodie and black shorts. Yennefer had taken him to the storage unit with his things and told him to make the room his own, so he had. Jaskier’s acoustic guitar was leaning against the wall next to his nightstand and a couple Polaroid pictures of him and Bee were pinned to his cork board above a small desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since he’d gotten to her house, Yennefer had never pushed him to speak more, but he’d been trying anyway. His voice no longer cracked and croaked as much and he said more than a few sentences when spoken to, but Jaskier was still reluctant to break the silence himself. Everything seemed too loud and too bright, but at least he no longer heard voices.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the first week had passed, Yennefer offered to get rid of the side effects of the possession for him and Jaskier had obviously said yes. No more voices of the dead, no more nightmares (about dying, at least), and no more burning with iron. Jaskier had been hesitant to test if it actually worked until Yennefer had convinced him that her abilities were more than trustworthy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he’d brushed and changed, Jaskier sat on his bed and resigned himself to another ridiculously early morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>❧</span>
</p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span>Morning Jask, hope you slept well. Just finished walking Roach. She almost ran away from me when she saw a squirrel running on someone’s lawn. Vesemir came back late last night, muddy and scratched up, but he wouldn’t tell any of us what he’d been hunting and we didn’t push him. I think he’s getting reckless and I’m worried. I don’t want to lose him. I don’t know if you’re even reading these but if you are, I just want you to know that I am truly sorry Jask. I miss you. Have a good day.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>Jaskier looked at the time. 6:30 AM. He’d almost replied when he saw what Geralt had sent, but it still felt too soon to be talking to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He understood that the brothers had only been listening to their father and they truly believed that Jaskier was for some reason trying to infiltrate their family, but he was still angry at them. Why hadn’t they even listened to his side of the story? Jaskier was conveniently not thinking about Geralt’s shouted “I loved you!” in the basement or the fact that it was past tense.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing, Jaskier slid off the bed and put a pair of thick socks on. Ever since the basement he’d done whatever he could to stop that feeling of his toes being frozen and Yennefer’s hardwood floor could be chilly in the mornings. He opened his door and headed downstairs, the cozy looking kitchen lit by the rising sun soothing his frazzled nerves. Jaskier liked sunrises. He missed the sun, but sometimes it could be too bright and overwhelm him, so sunrise was perfect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A snowflake fell from the sky and landed on the glass sliding door and Jaskier smiled. He was more of a summer person, but he loved the snow too. He used to curl up on the couch with Bee and watch the snow fall with her but… Bee wasn’t here anymore, was she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaskier felt his face fall and he moved to get some apple juice out of the fridge (Yennefer had a large supply for some reason). He sat crisscrossed at the kitchen table and tugged his hoodie sleeves down so only the tips of his fingers were showing. Footsteps made him turn around and for a second he expected to see one of the brothers, but he was met with Yennefer in a fluffy robe (faux fur of course) and they smiled at each other. It didn’t matter if Jaskier’s was still a shadow of what it used to be, it was getting there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, Jaskier,” Yennefer said quietly, knowing he didn’t like a lot of noise early in the day. It always put him on edge, gave him that feeling of too loud, too much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Yenna,” he replied at the same volume, feeling his smile widen a bit as he thought about how well they’d come to know each other’s odd habits and behaviors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking her phone out of her pocket, the sorceress frowned a bit. “Geralt is asking if he can come over with the others again. This is the third time in two weeks! He says he has a surprise for you, though. Something you’ll like. Should I tell him no again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaskier’s smile turned slightly strained. And he rubbed the end of his sleeve between his fingers. It was a habit he’d picked up in the cage to soothe himself. Yennefer’s eyes flicked to his fingers and back to his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to if you don’t feel like you’re ready, Jaskier.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the thing, wasn’t it? “I’m never gonna feel like I’m ready, so I might as well just do it now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After clarifying multiple times that Jaskier was sure, Yennefer replied to Geralt’s message and then spent ten minutes making Jaskier promise her he’d tell her if he was feeling like everything was getting a bit too much and that he was in no way obligated to forgive the brothers for what they’d done. It was all a bit dramatic, but Jaskier was still shocked he’d even agreed to this. Yennefer would be with him the whole time though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ten minutes later the doorbell was ringing and Jaskier was panicking. What was he thinking? All three brothers in the same room as him? Yennefer shot him a worried look as he began to rub his sleeve between his fingers again, but he smiled and hoped it looked reassuring. Jaskier still stood a little behind her when the door opened though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eskel stepped inside first and then Lambert, both of them smiling hesitantly at Jaskier, who was looking wide eyed at the box Geralt was carrying behind them. Holes were poked into the sides and something seemed to be moving inside. They all said hello (not Jaskier, he’d just smiled and given a simple wave) and sat down on the couches in the living room. Geralt put the box on the coffee table and Jaskier hesitantly took it, placing it on his lap. The three brothers and even Yennefer were looking at him expectantly so he slowly opened the box and…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bee!” Jaskier lifted the orange cat into his arms and hugged her, burning his face in soft fur. Yennefer’s eyes were wide, probably because that was the loudest she’d ever heard him, and the brothers all had smiles on their faces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Geralt reached out his fingers to be sniffed when Bee was set down on the coffee table, and nobody commented on Jaskier’s red eyes or the small patch of wet fur on Bee’s coat. “I wanted to give you something to remember her by, something to bury, so I went to a sorceress-” Yennefer’s eyes narrowed at this. “-and she gave me a location, but when I found Bee she was still alive and hiding in an old foxhole. She wasn’t hurt, just a little muddy and scared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Geralt,” Jaskier said with a large smile on his face. “You found Bee,” he said, more to himself. He couldn’t believe Bee was okay and that they were together again. He couldn’t believe Geralt had taken the time to find her and return her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eskel cleared his throat from where he was sitting on Geralt’s right. “We don’t expect you to forgive us, and we understand if you never will, but we will do whatever it takes to make it up to you Jaskier, I swear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other two nodded in agreement and Jaskier took a moment to find his words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… don’t know if I forgive you just yet, but this is an amazing start.” He smiled, reaching out to scratch Bee’s head. “Being in that cage… changed me somehow, and I don’t know how to fix it, but this helps.” Yennefer put a comforting hand on his arm as his fingers reached for his sleeve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can help you too,” Lambert said suddenly, having been oddly quiet the whole time. “We can help you… if you want. You don’t have to go through this alone, and it’s our fault you’re hurting…” He looked upset, hands fisted in his lap, and Jaskier pushed down the sudden urge to hug him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled instead, hearing the sincerity in his words. “I know. I just need a little time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you need,” Geralt said, looking relieved. “We’ll always be here for you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> always be here for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaskier looked into Geralt’s amber eyes and in that moment, he believed him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>❧</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Apologies and tears (the good ones this time).</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Last chapter y’all! Hope you like it :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>❧</p><p>There’d been a problem. Some sort of monster or creature that the brothers couldn’t take on alone, so they’d come to Yennefer’s to talk about their plan for defeating it about two months after their last meeting. Jaskier didn’t catch most of it to be honest. He’d had enough monster encounters for a lifetime. While everyone (including Vesemir, which had been a bit awkward for a bit) had gone upstairs, Jaskier had stayed on the living room couch, curled up in the sun with Bee.</p><p>Snow coated the ground in a sparkling sheen of white that made Jaskier want to never stop looking out the window. The fireplace next to him was roaring with delightfully warm flames and Jaskier soon found his eyes drooping, head lolling sleepily before jerking awake. Grabbing a blanket, Jaskier let Bee quilt on his legs while he curled up, intending to take a quick nap.</p><p><em> Intending </em> being the key word.</p><p>When Jaskier did wake up, it was to pitch black darkness. That same darkness that surrounded him and drowned him in the cage, that same darkness that made him want to scream and claw at his own skin just to know he was <em> real, </em> just to know he still <em> existed </em> after so long in that horrible, unending nothingness.</p><p>No soft sheets underneath him, no night light shining comfortingly in the corner of the room- Hell, Jaskier couldn’t even <em> see </em> the corner of the room. Gasping for breath, Jaskier shot up into sitting, a panicked, choked off whine leaving him as he looked around frantically for something, <em> anything, </em>to tell him he wasn’t back in that horrible basement, but he was met with nothing but darkness.</p><p>“No, no, no, <em> no, no-</em>” Jaskier’s frantic mumblings were cut off by a rough voice, trying its best to be as soft as possible.</p><p>“Jask? Jaskier, what’s wrong?” A soft glow suddenly lit up the room as Geralt switched on the lamp on the end table next to the couch. The man was crouched next to Jaskier, concern plain on his face, hands twitching like they wanted to touch him. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re at Yennefer’s house, remember? You’re not in… that place anymore.”</p><p>Those striking amber eyes, usually narrowed to slits, were dilated in the near dark and reminded Jaskier of Bee. Jaskier managed to grapple his breathing back into control, but the tension never left his body. Bee mewed in his lap and purred happily as he automatically reached out a hand to scratch behind her ears.</p><p>“Thanks,” Jaskier said softly, not trusting himself to talk about the details of his dreams without breaking down. “It was just a nightmare.”</p><p>Geralt’s eyes dropped to the floor between them and he bowed his head, white hair falling over his face like a curtain of snow. Reaching out shakily, Jaskier tucked a strand behind the man’s ear, holding back a small smile at how hard the other tried to be still throughout the motion. “…I’m sorry,” Geralt eventually said, looking guilty and pained.</p><p>Jaskier nodded to show that he was listening, letting Geralt gather his thoughts for a moment.</p><p>“It’s my fault you’re having these nightmares, and it’s my fault you’re hurting. I shouldn’t have listened to Vesemir so easily, I should have trusted you more, Jaskier. You trusted me to protect you again and again and I <em> didn’t. </em> It’s my fault this happened to you, and I’m so sorry that I-” Geralt sucked in a breath, exhaling shakily and Jaskier’s eyes widened at the glistening wetness in the man’s  amber gaze. “-I’m so sorry that I <em> failed </em> you. I failed you and I <em> hurt </em> you for two <em> weeks, </em> Jaskier, I am so <em> sorry,</em>” Geralt apologized, voice tight with grief, and tears sparkled on his face like small stars in the low light of the lamp.</p><p>Jaskier felt tears rolling down his own cheeks, and his breath hitched at the unguarded emotions in Geralt’s face, at the heartbreaking sincerity in his voice. He’d never seen the other man cry before and here he was on his <em> knees </em> in front of Jaskier, apologizing from the bottom of his heart. “Geralt…” he started, unsure of what he was going to say.</p><p>That rough voice, wobbly with emotion, interrupted him. “I’m not expecting you to forgive me, Jaskier, I would never ask for that after what my family and I did to you. I just want you to know that I realize that I am the world’s biggest <em> fucking </em> idiot, and that I can’t live with myself knowing that you’re hurting because of <em> me-</em>”</p><p>“<em>Geralt,</em>” Jaskier said softly, stopping the Geralt’s flow of speech with a gentle finger to the man’s lips. “I… forgive you. Not entirely, but…”</p><p>And it was true. After months of doing nothing else but thinking about his time in the basement and long sessions spent talking to one of Yennefer’s sorceress friends, Triss, who moonlighted as a therapist, Jaskier was pretty stable with his decision. This only furthered it. Yes, Jaskier was still very upset at what had been done to him, but for the most part he’d stopped being angry because being angry was so tiring. It was so <em>exhausting</em> and it was just easier to… let go. Not all of that anger was gone, there was still a bit of tension between him and Vesemir in his mind, but that was to be expected. He hadn’t completely forgiven any of the brothers though, it didn’t sit right, but Geralt was making good progress with this apology.</p><p>Geralt’s eyes were wide, lips parted slightly, and the shocked look on his face had Jaskier smiling a bit. “You’re sure, Jask?” he asked hesitantly, staring up into Jaskier’s eyes with a searching gaze. “I’m not pressuring you or anything, right?”</p><p>“No, this is all me,” Jaskier said with a small laugh. “I’m not ready to completely forgive you just yet, but this… you apologizing and owning up to your actions means a lot to me, Geralt.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Geralt said, reaching out hesitantly and grinning when Jaskier took the man’s hand between his own. “Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself to you, Jaskier. I won't ever hurt you again, I swear.”</p><p>“You better not, this is your <em> last </em> chance, you oaf,” Jaskier joked, but they both caught the seriousness of the statement. This was his last chance. If Geralt hurt him again, Jaskier was not about to give out any more free passes or chances. Enough was enough.</p><p>Geralt let their hands fall in order to pull Jaskier into a warm hug, giving him enough time to move away if he wanted. Jaskier smiled, wrapping his arms loosely around Geralt’s neck and giggling as Bee meowed unhappily from where she was squished between them.</p><p>“I missed you, Jask,” Geralt said, lips pressed against Jaskier’s hair.</p><p>“I missed you too,” Jaskier whispered, tightening his arms the tiniest bit.</p><p>Things weren’t the same, and they would never be the same, but maybe, just maybe, they could be better this time around.</p><p>❧</p><p>
  <em>Fin.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aah this is my first finished series!! It’s been a blast and I love all of you for sticking with me through this! Sorry if the ending seemed sort of abrupt, I was planning on adding more but ultimately decided that this was a perfect place to stop. Hope you guys liked this wild ride of a series!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the last work in this series, I’m so happy I made it here! Be prepared for fluff and just a little more angst &gt;:)<br/>I have no idea how to use <a href="https://thefoxssocks.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, but shoot me a message if you want and I’ll figure it out!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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